Syracuse students agree: Boston College isn't in Boston, but Syracuse University is in Syracuse.
Syracuse heads to the oldest Commonwealth to take on Boston College in the lovely city of Chestnut Hill. Syracuse is coming off a pretty good beatdown they took at Virginia Tech, but are looking to earn another road ACC win in the middle of a three game road stretch. This one is very winable, as basically the BC show starts and ends with Ky Bowman. He's averaging a very gaudy 20.5ppg, and Syracuse will have to stop him and his 44.3 FG% if Syracuse wants to have success against BC at BC this time. The good news is that BC as a whole is not a great long range shooting team this season. They are ranked 271 in the nation, and 11th in the ACC with 32% as a team. That means, BC really does have to attack the Zone if they wish to win this one. In the past, Syracuse has lost at BC due to the very good outside shooting of BC. That doesn't appear to be the way BC can win this season. Unlike at VTech, Syracuse will have to cover Bowman, but also Jordan Chatman. After that, they can afford to let the others have a bit of rope to hang themselves with bad outside shots, and rebound the ball at the BC end. If Syracuse is solid on the boards, and get some transition offense off of defense, they should be in good shape in this game. BC guard Wynston Tabbs went down at the end of December and hasn't back back yet due to a knee injury. If he does play, that will certainly help BC's cause, but it is looking doubtful he comes back tonight. I think Syracuse, with a little more rest than they had at VTech, will come out sharp with a commitment to finding BC's shooters, and should play a good game. I think SU pulls away somewhat early in the 2nd half, and has another solid road victory. I'm taking Syracuse by 16. This game is available regionally on Raycom Sports at 8:00pm. Check your local listings here, or watch online here. Or WatchESPN if you aren't blacked out. I'll be in the Conte Forum tonight seeing the boys live. John will be in the home office. I'll see you out there in Chestnut Hill and not Boston. BC SUCKS AND ALWAYS WILL!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Beating another Top 10 team on the road helps a lot.
Syracuse takes on VTech, starting a 3 game road trip. VTech is a Top 10 team, and are coming of a couple blowout losses in the ACC on the road. But VTech is now home and Syracuse is coming in to test their acumen on the road in another tough test. And frankly, this is an interesting matchup. Syracuse just beat the smallest team in the ACC. Syracuse now takes on the 2nd smallest, but they are in the top 3 in the nation in 3 point field goals. So the issue is, can Syracuse get to shooters, and will their height make it more difficult for one of the best shooting teams in the nation? Conversely, the defense for VTech is the worst in the league in terms of FG%. It doesn't matter usually, because they score a ton. But Syracuse should find it easy to score in this one. Additionally, VTech is only playing seven players, so if fouls are an issue in this one, VTech may have a hard time staying in this. Before looking at VTech, I assumed Syracuse would hit a stumbling block on the road against another good ACC team, but due to the height issue, and the fact that VTech doesn't have a very good defense, I am liking Syracuse in this one, especially with their momentum and being on the road. VTech has been off since Monday night, so they should come out fresher. But either way, I think Syracuse has the advantage in the matchup. I'm taking Syracuse by six. This game is available nation wide on ESPN / WatchESPN at 8:00pm. John will be watching. I'll actually be out of pocket tonight. Enjoy watching the game not from center court, but on a goofy angle that in 2019 they still haven't figured out how to put a camera in the middle there. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Gotta keep the winning streak alive.
Syracuse had a very good week last week, beating Duke on the road, and taking care of Pittsburgh at home. Now a Miami team, which hasn't had the best year so far heads to the Dome. Syracuse is favored in this game, and this is the kind of game (like G'Tech was before the Duke win) that Syracuse has to win at home. Miami's best offensive player is 5'7" Chris Lykes. He is making 37.5% of his long range shots, and averages 18.1ppg. His size makes him elusive to defenders when he drives, but Syracuse should be able to disrupt his shooting in this one, just do to it's size. Additionally, Chukwu and other players should be able to block shots inside. Not to mention the fact that the 2-3 zone will encourage him not to drive as much, but rather to take more shots. But really, Miami's a lot like Syracuse last season. They don't have much depth due to NCAA issues, and a lot of players will play a lot of minutes. If they get into foul trouble, Miami is in real trouble. Miami is a good 3 point shooting team however. Their sniper is DJ Vasiljevic, who is hitting 44% (ouch). Obviously the 2-3 zone provides a solid chance for Miami to stay in the game. But unless they take a whole bunch of 3s and make them, Syracuse should have a nice win. I'm expecting Syracuse to continue their momentum and Miami to fall right into being short handed and just plain short. I'm taking Syracuse by 11. This game is available regionally at 8:00pm. John is in the Dome. I'm at home. Congrats to my good friends Brian and Liz who aren't at the game because they just had a new Orange fan. As always, GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: We are back in full force for a rivalry game.
Syracuse pulled off a monumental win at Duke against the #1 team in the nation on Big Monday. Now Syracuse heads back to defend their home court against long time rival Pittsburgh. Pitt was dreadful last season under Kevin Stallings, but now they have a competent coach against Jeff Capel, who has them sitting pretty after beating FSU and Louisville recently in the Pete. They haven't played as well on the road however, losing to NC State earlier in the week. Reports out of Pittsburgh have said that Pitt plans to forgo the easy three point opportunities that the 2-3 Zone affords, but rather they will try and get in the paint and body Syracuse and get SU either in foul trouble or get to the free throw line. I think Duke tried to do some of that. Syracuse today will fair kind of like they did against Duke. If the center spot is producing, and that means both points and rebounds, Syracuse should win this game. Pascal Chukwu, fresh off a monster game at Duke, will be starting again for Syracuse. I like their chances in this one, not only because they are home, but they have a lot of momentum and success to build off of. Syracuse by 7 in this one. This game is available regionally on RSN at 2:00pm. Check your local listings. John will be at the game. I'm at the home office. Shit on Pitt and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Pittsburgh, Preview, Rivalries
Syracuse students agree: We're back on campus but this game is in NC.
Syracuse played poorly against GTech at home on Saturday. But Duke also had a tough go, needing a virtual buzzer beater to win the game (the widest open three you may see this month). But Syracuse now has a chance to take down #1 in the nation on the road. It's a simple game plan. Pack the paint, and make Duke beat you with contested three point buckets. Get a few turnovers and some quick fast break points. The more easy scores Syracuse gets the better. And hope you can grind out a game. This is going to be a nasty one, one way or the other. Either Syracuse will commit a lot of fouls, and ground out a close one, or Duke is going to go HAM in the 2nd half and light it up. The conventional wisdom says the latter will occur. I think, much like Georgetown, this game between these two teams, no matter the rankings or status, will end up being closer than most people think. Syracuse puts in a good effort in this one, but much like last year's Sweet 16, will probably come up just short. And a few missed threes at the end, will result in either Duke scores or free throws, causing the margin to be wider than it probably should have been. But I'm taking Duke by 13. Zion Williamson will probably be not as great as he was in the non-conference, but he will get some points. And Duke is talented enough to weather this storm at home. February 23rd is a different story, but this one goes to Duke. This game is available nationally on ESPN / WatchESPN with the best broadcasters in the biz, Sean McDonough and Jay Bilas. If only Raf still worked at ESPN. John and I are both watching at home. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Duke, Preview, We Hate Duke
Syracuse students agree: Another win should be forthcoming.
Georgia Tech heads to Syracuse to take on SU in the Dome for the 3rd ACC game on the Orange's schedule. Syracuse is obviously favored in this game, with GTech having losses to Gardner Webb, Georgia, and Northwestern to name a few. This GTech team has more depth, but kind of looks like last year's Syracuse team. They don't have a lot of offensive power, but use their defense to grind out wins and keep them in the game. They have a very good defense and are top 20 in the country in adjusted defense efficiency and effective field goal percentage defense. Syracuse will have to find a way to score, and that means getting production from the usual suspects, as well as creating offense through the center position. Marek Dolezaj has been a spark from the center spot, starting the last few games. And actually Sidibe was pretty great both on defense and in a little bit of offense in the last game as well, against a tough center on Clemson. Another good point, is that GTech turns the ball over about as much on average as Clemson. So Syracuse should be able to generate some quick scores in transition, or at least by getting more possessions. If they keep turnovers low, and continue to rebound as well or slightly better than GTech, this should be another nice easy early ACC win. Syracuse should have a nice outing today, and I expect all the stars to shine for Syracuse. I'm taking the Orange by 14. This game is available on ESPN 2 and WatchESPN at 6:00pm. John is in the Dome. I'll be watching the first half, but them I'm out. Should be an easy one. SHOULD BE. Go Orange!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Time to go 2-0 in league play.
Syracuse is fresh off their first league win, and a road win at that. But now they return to the Carrier Dome to take on Clemson. Elijah Hughes went off in South Bend, and the ever reliable Tyus Battle delivered as usual. The biggest surprise was Frank Howard hit some key shots, but distributed the ball well in the game. What also helped was Syracuse drained a lot of 3s. Now Clemson has a very veteran team, only starting one underclassman, but they are garbage at shooting from behind the arc. They have a high two point field goal percentage though. Now if you're reading this, you know that that gives Syracuse (that plays a 2-3 Zone) the advantage. They can pack the paint, and let Clemson take a bunch of shots. As long as Syracuse rebounds, they can limit Clemson possessions and get some fast break points. Syracuse has a big advantage against Clemson, and as long as someone is making baskets in the Dome, Syracuse should be just fine. I think Syracuse gets off to a fast start, and will pull away about halfway through the 2nd half. Syracuse by 12. It can't help that Clemson will have a bit of a Football National Championship hangover as well. This game is available regionally, on WatchESPN if not on your TV, or here online. John is in the Dome. I'm at home. Let's go Orange!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview